FOOTBALL

VICK CO-DEFENDANT PLEADS GUILTY TO CONSPIRACY CHARGES

One of Michael Vick’s co-defendants pleaded guilty yesterday to federal dogfighting conspiracy charges in a plea agreement with prosecutors. Tony Taylor, 34, who will be sentenced December 14, said he was not promised any specific sentence in return for his cooperation with the government. Taylor, of Hampton, entered his plea in U.S. District Court to conspiracy to travel in interstate commerce in aid of unlawful activities, and conspiring to sponsor a dog in an animal fighting venture. Vick, the star quarterback for the Atlanta Falcons, and two other co-defendants pleaded not guilty last week to similar charges. The offenses carry a maximum punishment of five years in prison and fines of up to $250,000.

COLLEGE FOOTBALL

NOTRE DAME, MICHIGAN AGREE TO PLAY THROUGH 2031

Michigan and Notre Dame will be knocking helmets on the football field for another two decades. The two storied programs agreed to a 20-year contract extension yesterday that will have them playing annually through 2031. The series was set to expire after the 2011 season.

“The Notre Dame-Michigan game has been a red-letter date on the football schedule for a long time, so it made perfect sense to make certain the rivalry continues annually long into the future,” Notre Dame athletic director Kevin White said.

Associated Press

SOCCER

ADU AGREES TO JOIN PORTUGAL’S BENFICA FOR $2M

Freddy Adu, who broke into Major League Soccer as a 14-year-old and was twice an All-Star pick in the U.S. circuit, will join Portugal’s Benfica for $2 million.

Benfica, which won the last of its two European Cups in 1962, said in a securities filing today that Adu would move from Real Salt Lake once he’s agreed to personal terms and has completed a physical examination.

Adu, now 18, emigrated with his parents to America from Ghana 10 years ago. He became one of the highest-paid players in MLS and the youngest professional athlete in American team sports in more than a century when he played his first game for DC United in April 2004.

Bloomberg News